


he's made of water & glass

by seafoamblues



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Friendship, Humor, M/M, Merman Kyungsoo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 08:58:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5491358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seafoamblues/pseuds/seafoamblues
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mermaid AU. Chanyeol has never seen Kyungsoo swim.</p>
            </blockquote>





	he's made of water & glass

**Author's Note:**

> iridae gave me the prompt, "chansoo, someone is a mermaid, shit happens." i almost considered writing mermaid sex. ~~maybe next time.~~ if this was a the little mermaid au, chanyeol would totally be ariel and kyungsoo would be eric tho. just saying.
> 
> crossposted from my [livejournal](http://seafoamblues.livejournal.com/7352.html).

* * *

 

Jongdae's having a pool party slash barbeque get-together and everyone's donning their swim trunks and wading through the shallow end just minutes after showing up.  
  
Except for Kyungsoo.  
  
Kyungsoo, he's several yards away from the cerulean pool, an impressive structure that boasts 8 feet at its deepest ("I like to dive," Jongdae brags), fully clothed in jeans and a t-shirt. It's 92 degrees outside.  
  
"Hey Kyungsoo, afraid of a little water?" Baekhyun calls before pushing a tidal wave in the boy's direction. It lands feet away from him, but Kyungsoo still recoils in his chair, pulling his legs up and hissing.  
  
"What are you, the Wicked Witch of the West?" The aggressor pretends to drown, sinking in place and letting the water go up around his neck while Jongdae laughs uproariously next to him. "I'm _meeeeltiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing_!"  
  
"Shut up, Baekhyun. Don't be a dick," Chanyeol says, flicking his hand and aiming to splash water in the impersonator's eyes. Baekhyun's face twists up and he blinks several times, sneezing once.  
  
"You know I'm allergic to chlorine!" he whines. Jongdae swims over and grabs Baekhyun in a chokehold, dunking him under.  
  
"Wear goggles then, you dork," Chanyeol tells him once he surfaces. His eyes are already rimmed red from irritation.  
  
The tallest of the group looks over at Kyungsoo. The boy is silent, curled up on the reclining chair. Beads of sweat stand out on his forehead and temples. He appears absorbed in his smart phone.  
  
Later, while Kyungsoo and Jongdae are cooking samgyupsal on the grill, Chanyeol overhears them talking.  
  
"Why'd you come if you weren't going to swim?"  
  
"I told you already that I wasn't," Kyungsoo says. He diligently turns over a slice of pork belly with the tongs.  
  
"Well, thanks for helping out with the barbequing, at least."  
  
"Just don't let it all blow away this time."  
  
Chanyeol recalls the last barbeque they had early spring when the wind was relentless, sweeping up a plate of freshly-grilled bulgogi and carrying it to the ground. Jongdae stared at it forlornly while Kyungsoo ushered him to save the few pieces that could be salvaged from the dirt.  
  
Come to think of it, Kyungsoo hadn't swum that time, either. He had definitely laughed when Jongdae pulled down Baekhyun's swim trunks in the pool, however. Kyungsoo declared that he never wanted to see his friend's pale ass again.  
  
Truthfully, Chanyeol's known Kyungsoo since grade school, and he's never seen him step foot into a pool or do anything that involves getting wet.  
  
Maybe he'll ask him about it later. It's not a big deal.  
  


-

  
  
It turns out to be a big deal.  
  
Chanyeol is persistent by nature, but he forgets about the incident and the following revelation soon after they leave Jongdae's place. It's not until a week later that he's reminded of the question that had been swimming around in his head at the party.  
  
Kyungsoo's parents' house has a pool. It isn't as impressive as their friend's, but it isn't a kiddie pool, either. Chanyeol doesn't know if Kyungsoo has ever used it – certainly not when he's around – but it exists, and Kyungsoo had invited him over to his parents' to spend the night just like old times. His folks had gone out of town and their son was persuaded to take care of the dogs with the promise of his mother's homemade oatmeal cinnamon cookies. Naturally, such a big house gets lonely with just him and three miniature canines (his parents never downsized when he and his brother moved out), so he called Chanyeol for company.  
  
After having their fill of sweets, they let the dogs out to roam the backyard while they walk next to the pool. The surface of the water ripples liquid silver in the faint glow of moonlight pouring over the fence. Chanyeol thinks Kyungsoo's face looks very pretty in the glow, the milky pallor of his skin all filtered and soft and in the ethereal light.  
  
When Chanyeol's around Kyungsoo, sometimes he can't keep his hands off of the smaller boy. Kyungsoo evokes a peculiar urge, an impulse to grab and latch onto him and a reluctance to let him go. His friend has grown accustomed to it and ignores him less than he had done before, indulging Chanyeol by being still and allowing himself to be held.  
  
This time, however, Chanyeol doesn't want to hold. He wants to provoke; he wants to push. The closeness of the water is too tempting and Kyungsoo is far too beautiful. There's the fleeting thought, then large hands pushing — and Kyungsoo is falling over the edge of the pool and into the water.  
  
The crash is deafening in his ears. All of the dogs are barking, a cacophony of yipping.  
  
Kyungsoo's head emerges seconds later, limbs thrashing wildly.  
  
"You fucking asshole!"  
  
He's making no move to get of the water. Just splashing, splashing, flailing uselessly, going nowhere.  
  
Chanyeol looks upon the scene numbly. Maybe — maybe Kyungsoo is never in the water because he can't swim.  
  
Kyungsoo disappears beneath the surface and Chanyeol thinks, _Oh my god, I'm such a fucking asshole._  
  
So he dives in after him to try and redeem himself, retrieving his friend from the bottom of the pool so he doesn't fucking drown, or something. There's a part of Chanyeol that's hoping Kyungsoo's been down there long enough to perform some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.  
  
He chases after the swirling light above and breaches the surface, cradling Kyungsoo in his arms. He gasps for air but Kyungsoo is silent, motionless.  
  
The taller boy looks down at him to inspect the damage, quickly surmising that his unresponsiveness calls for lip locking action once they reach solid ground.  
  
Instead, he notices that Kyungsoo is fully conscious and completely unharmed.  
  
Except for his bottom half, which has changed significantly since when he'd last saw him.  
  
Chanyeol could have sworn that Kyungsoo had two legs before he fell into the water, but now a tail has sprouted in their place. It's as though they had been melded together, forming one elongated curvature dappled with shimmering scales of splendid royal blue. Ombre fins starting with the brightest of yellows feather out elegantly from the sides and the end of his tail.  
  
Chanyeol doesn't register what he's seeing at first. His best friend is a – a—  
  
"A mermaid?"  
  
Kyungsoo looks up at him impossibly slowly, big eyes that he'd previously been hiding in shame, anger, or embarrassment.  
  
"Don't," he says softly.  
  
Chanyeol thinks his friend feels heavier than usual, but he also feels so small and delicate in his arms. He holds him there awkwardly, an arm underneath the bend of his tail. The scales are slightly slippery but smooth and not unpleasant.  
  
"It's okay," the human begins hesitantly. "It's just . . . Wow."  
  
There are a few moments that stretch on in which neither of them talk or move. Kyungsoo flips his tail once very gently, almost like a cat twitching its tail in agitation, and barely disturbs the surface of the water.  
  
"You can put me down," Kyungsoo says. "I can swim. Obviously."  
  
"All right," Chanyeol replies somewhat cautiously, not wanting to fuck this up any further. He lowers his arms and Kyungsoo sort of glides out of them, like swimming is the most natural thing in the world for him. It probably is.  
  
Chanyeol calls after him. "Are you gonna like . . . change back?"  
  
The merman uses his arms to hoist himself up onto the side of the pool. He sits, tail out of the water, and distractedly pushes the dogs away when they clamber up to him, sniffing at his appendage.  
  
"In a minute." He heaves a short sigh. "It'll happen soon."  
  
"I'm really sorry," Chanyeol says once he's out of the water, sitting down next to Kyungsoo, but at a respectable distance. "Like I'm so fucking sorry, I had no idea—"  
  
Kyungsoo barks out an ironic laugh. "Of course you didn't. You probably just thought I couldn't swim. If that were true, I could have drowned, you fucknut."  
  
"I know, I'm sorry, I don't know why."  
  
"Do you think I'm a freak?"  
  
Chanyeol blinks. "A freak? No."  
  
"Why?" Kyungsoo runs his palm over the top of his tail where his thigh would have been. "Isn't this weird?"  
  
"Yeah, it's weird, but you're not a freak."  
  
The slightest of smiles inches across the merman's mouth.  
  
"If you say so, Chanyeol."  
  


-

  
  
Once Kyungsoo changes back, for better or worse, they wrap themselves in towels like monks and sit at the kitchen table in silence, mulling over what had happened. They stare at the plate of what remains of the cookies situated between them, avoiding each other's eyes.  
  
It's a while before Chanyeol speaks up.  
  
"So you don't like water because you turn into a mermaid?"  
  
Kyungsoo snorts quietly.  
  
"Of course I like water. I just don't want to—to be like that. Around my friends. Around anyone."  
  
"It's okay," Chanyeol says for the second time that night. "Your fins are really pretty."  
  
Kyungsoo snorts again, louder this time.  
  
"Pretty," he scoffs. "Right."  
  
Chanyeol forces his lips to twist into a wry smile.  
  
"So, like, can I keep you in my bathtub?"  
  
"That's animal cruelty, Chanyeol."  
  
They descend into silence once more. Kyungsoo is the one who talks first, this time.  
  
"Thank you," he says in a barely audible voice.  
  
Chanyeol perks up.  
  
"For what? For being a complete asshole and outing you?"  
  
"For not judging me," Kyungsoo finishes.  
  
"I never judge you," his companion states honestly. "I never have. Not for one minute or one second."  
  
"I guess that's why we're friends," Kyungsoo concludes.  
  


-

  
  
**_bonus  
_**   
  
It takes several more minutes for Chanyeol to build up the courage to ask about something else he's been thinking about.  
  
He grabs the last cookie from the platter and stuffs it into his mouth before speaking.  
  
"So uh, when you're a mermaid . . . like—"  
  
"Merman," Kyungsoo corrects.  
  
"Merman, okay. When you're a merman . . . like, where's your dick?"  
  
"Chanyeol," he warns.  
  
"But how do you poop?"  
  
Kyungsoo gets up from his seat, the chair legs scraping across the wood floor.  
  
"I'm going to my room," he declares.  
  
"Kyungsoo, this is important!"  
  
Maybe he'll ask him about it later. It's not a big deal, after all.


End file.
